


Meet Me In Heaven

by burymeinziam



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Character Death, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Smut, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-11
Updated: 2013-01-11
Packaged: 2017-11-25 01:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/633835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burymeinziam/pseuds/burymeinziam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It didn’t matter that he was forced into the Royal Navy and hide his sexuality. In that moment Louis knew that every salute he made and that every shot he took was not a waste. He did it all for him; for Harry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meet Me In Heaven

Louis woke to find their limbs intertwined together like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle slotted together to make one. He was feeling on top of the world, like everything in his life was all in preparation for this one moment of complete and unabashed happiness. It didn’t matter that he was forced into the Royal Navy and hide his sexuality. In that moment Louis knew that every salute he made and that every shot he took was not a waste. 

He did it all for him; for Harry. 

It wouldn’t have taken much for Louis to be lulled back to sleep by the gentle movements of the iron clad ship, but he chose to stay awake so he could drink in the boy lying next to him. He was never able to watch him from the other flimsy cot, let alone lie next to him. As Louis glanced over Harry’s every feature he couldn’t help but to think that Harry was something sent from the gods. He smiled softly to himself and reached up to trail his fingers lightly along Harry’s jaw, his chin. There were light tufts of hair running along the skin just above his lips and Louis laughed quietly as he couldn’t resist the urge to taste the perfection lying next to him.

By then Harry had begun to stir, passing through that stage of “sound asleep” in favor of “slightly awake” in a matter of seconds. Harry could probably feel Louis’ fingers gently massaging the exposed skin of his hip bone. Louis sighed affectionately as he reached up and ran his fingers over Harry’s newly buzzed hair, realizing how different it made him look. And while he missed Harry’s wild curls, Louis didn’t really mind; Harry could have been bald for all he cared.

Eventually his eyes fluttered open and Harry let out a faint, satisfied sigh as he pressed himself further into Louis’ body. Louis pressed his lips to his once again, and Harry responded to the pressure quickly without a hint of hesitation. Harry’s head tilted slightly to the left, Louis’ to the right, as their mouths continued their fervent dance. Louis used one hand to cup Harry’s cheek while he propped himself up on his elbow so he was almost hovering over the boy next to him. Slowly, his tongue slipped into Harry’s mouth, apprehensive about allowing him to taste his morning breath but Harry really didn’t seem to mind.

Their nostrils flared, their breathing became rapid and clear, and Louis couldn’t help but to smile between kisses at the warmth of Harry’s breath. It tickled his nose sending shockwaves throughout his body. Louis had never felt that before with anybody; ever. However, to his dismay, Harry pulled back, slowly smacking their lips together with every centimeter that grew between them. 

“Good morning to you too, Louis,” he beamed.

Louis blushed as he laced their fingers together, pecking Harry’s nose. “Today is Sunday.”

Harry nodded. “I know. What makes it different from any other day?”

“Did you forget we have the day off today?” Louis asked, shocked that Harry of all people would forget a free day. Louis’ family was even coming for a visit and they were going to take them out for breakfast in town. For Louis, the thought of not having to eat in that dingy galley was too good to be true.

“Oh, jeez,” Harry responded, his mouth agape and his eyes bright with excitement as he met Louis’ gaze. He pecked his lips and rolled over Louis’ body to stand up, completely naked, and began to gather up the uniform that Louis had eagerly discarded the night before.

“Pervert,” Harry muttered with a smirk when he caught Louis staring. He turned away from the older boy and began to hurriedly fold up his clothes.

“Sorry,” Louis replied although they both know he didn’t mean it. He swung his legs over the hanging cot that was bolted up to the wall. “Why are you in such a rush?”

“I have a free day with you, Louis,” Harry stated plainly as he grabbed his shampoo from the small night table. “Why shouldn’t I be in a hurry?”

“Harry… I thought I told you my parents were coming today,” Louis said, trying to sound cold and slightly annoyed. 

“Oh…” Harry trailed off, his cheerful mood disappearing. “I guess I’ll just—I’ll just have Horan tell a bunch of his old war stories or something,” He sighed nervously capping and uncapping the top to his shampoo bottle. Louis could tell that Harry was feeling awkward in the situation, and judging by the sudden gloss in his eyes he knew Harry was _thisclose_ to bursting into tears.

“Did he tell you the one where this guy’s fiancé broke up with him and asked to have her picture sent back?” Louis asked remembering the conversation he and Horan had had a few months earlier. He really did have the best stories and, even if the stories weren’t so great, you could still occupy yourself by staring at his bright smile while he talked. 

“No.” Harry sighed, leaning against the cold wall, waiting for the story. “He didn’t.”

“Well, you see, this girl was sick of her fiancé being gone all the time so she wrote him a ketter breaking up with him and asking him to send her picture back. Don’t ask me why she would ask such a thing because I have no idea… Anyway, naturally, the guy was down and out about the whole thing, but his buddies had this great idea. They take as many pictures of girls that they could find and bundled them together with a note saying “‘can’t remember which one is you… feel free to find your picture, but don’t forget to send the rest back!’” Louis slapped his knee, making himself feel very merry, but when he looked up to see what Harry thought of the story he found that he was no longer there.

Louis shot out of bed and kicked around the floor, digging for his briefs so he could run out after him. Once he slipped them on, Louis stepped out into the hall, glancing in both directions. He saw Harry down the hall to the left and mentally slapped himself for letting his joke get that far. 

“Harry!” He called out, which Louis was sure his shipmates appreciated at 6:30 a.m. on their free Sunday morning.

Louis sprinted down the hallway, wanting to reach Harry before he could lock himself in the bathroom. When he reached him, Harry was about to slam the door in his face, but Louis pushed his body against the door, holding it open. 

“Harry!” Louis gritted out as Harry stared at him coldly, a stray tear falling down his face. “I- I’m sorry, okay? I was only joking.” Louis put on the sincerest expression he could manage and lazily pressed his lips to Harry’s cheek.

“What do you mean you were only joking?” Harry asked, confused and still a little angry, but he couldn’t hide the smile that was creeping onto his lips.

“Harry...” Louis began, tilting his head to the side because the hold this boy had on his heart was unreal. “You know you’re coming with me to see my family. I want them to meet you; I want them to know what you mean to me.” Louis reached forward for Harry’s hips, bringing them closer to his own.

“And what do I mean to you?” Harry asked, his voice on the borderline between innocent and seductive.

“Everything,” Louis murmured, firmly pressing his hand into Harry’s chest and pushing him into the shower stall.

“No! Louis!” Harry whined. “What if someone walks in here? You and I know that that ‘everyone is equal in the Navy’ is total bullshit. We’ll get caught an—"

“Who gives a shit?” Louis questioned, pushing Harry up against the tile and placing a hand on the back of his head. Harry instinctively wrapped his arms around Louis’ torso, not bothering with any further complaints, as Louis began to slip off the remainder of their clothing. He grasped Harry’s hips, lifting him up so he could wrap them around Louis’ waist, and quickly let his tongue wander into Harry’s mouth.

“Oh fuck, Lou...” Harry gasped as Louis took a firm hold on his member. Louis inwardly grinned as Harry let a few soft moans spill over his lips, bucking his hips softly into Louis’ hand. His chest was heaving as he used all his breath to pant out words of encouragement while Louis leaned forward to attach his lips to Harry’s neck. He was groaning and cursing and Louis only wanted more out of him.

“I want you,” Louis breathed into Harry’s ear. Harry groaned and Louis pulled back to meet his eyes. “Can I?” He asked and Harry nodded, desperately pulling Louis in closer to him. Louis grinned at the eagerness and kissed Harry’s neck a few more times before dropping Harry to the floor and grabbing his bottle of shampoo. He squirted a fair amount into his palm and used the shampoo s a lubricant before returning to Harry. The pair resumed their position against the wall as Louis grabbed hold himself and positioned himself at Harry’s entrance. “You ready?”

Harry only grunted in reply and began to buck his hips forward once their skin touched. Louis grinned and pushed inside until he reached his end and by that time Harry was groaning out in what Louis couldn’t tell to be pain or pleasure. Maybe it was a combination of the two. He cupped Harry’s face with his free hand and kissed the cheeks on his pain-stricken face, trying to ease Harry’s trembling frame. Louis slowly pulled out, gingerly thrusting back inside shortly after, fighting back the urge to simply pound Harry into the wall. 

“Mmm, Lou. Fast… Faster. Please,” Harry breathed out, beginning to enjoy himself. Louis grinned, happy to comply with his orders, and increased his pace. 

Harry huffed heavily, arching his back off of the wall, as he searched for something, anything, to hold onto. The next thing Louis knew there was a steady stream of cold water falling from the rusty nozzle, soaking the pair as they continued on.

“Oh, God… Harry,” Louis groaned, his head collapsing onto Harry’s shoulder. He continued to drive into Harry, pushing the boy higher and higher up the wall as they rode out their final seconds, Louis coming with an animalistic growl and Harry with a soft, barely audible sigh. Their kisses began to grow sloppy as they steadily became overwhelmed with exhaustion. Soon, Louis collapsed onto the cold tile, panting, bringing Harry down with him.

“I love you, Harry,” Louis said, kissing his eyelids, his nose. “So much.”

Harry nodded, pressing a kiss to Louis’ shoulder. “I love you, too.”

“We’ve had sex twice in less than ten hours,” Louis pointed out as he stood up and turned off the water. He held a hand out to Harry and helped him up. 

Harry smiled and placed his hands on Louis’ hips, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. Louis wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist, pulling him close and burrowing his head into his neck. They stood like that for a while, their hearts beating wildly as one. 

The haphazard bare of sirens suddenly filled their eardrums causing them to jump away from each other in shock. Louis’ mouth was hanging open as he looked to Harry in complete confusion. Harry’s face didn’t look much different. 

“Go… Go check it out,” Harry shivered, pointing to the door. Louis nodded and slipped on his underwear as he darted out into the hallway that was teeming with life.

The hall was filled with men running everywhere trying to piece their uniforms together as they ran. People stood at the sides yelling for everyone to hurry up and suddenly there was voice over the intercom repeating, over and over, in a monotonic tone "All hands on deck.”

The adrenalin began to pump through Louis’ veins as he rushed back to Harry who was already half dressed and in a complete panic. “Louis—” He looked up, his eyes wide, hands shaking, and completely unable to finish his sentence. Louis could feel his fear and his heart broke because he’d never seen Harry look so young. 

“It’s okay,” Louis soothed,  taking Harry’s hands and squeezing firmly. He tried to smile. “We’ll be fine.” 

Louis pressed a kiss to Harry’s knuckles and explained that he needed to run back to the room and grab his clothes, but he’d meet Harry on the deck. He wiped a few tears from his face and leaned in to kiss him. If only he’d known.

Once in their room, Louis’ confidence dwindled. He was scared shitless, to be honest. He did his best to shrug off all throught from then on as he put on his uniform and joined the rest of the men in the hallway. The light from the outside made him squint slightly, but once he looked around for a mere second his eyes grew wide with shock. Clouds of pitch black moke surrounded the base and planes roamed the sky sending a loud screech through Louis’ ears.

“Tomlinson!” a Captain Payne shouted. “Man the guns!” 

He pushed Louis toward one of the large machine guns along the railings and he quickly got to work. With his finger on the trigger he followed the enemy and fired whenever he saw fit. Screams of agony could be heard from every direction and the enemy was shooting his friends down by the dozen. It threw off Louis’ focus and caused him to shoot aimlessly into the sky which he was brutally scolded for.

“Louis!” Harry called, touching Louis’ back causing him to once again, fire without reason.

“Harry, get out of here!” Louis said firmly, turning around and touching his shoulder. “I’m not kidding. You gotta run. Get off the ship!” He pushed Harry away from him, his eyes looking pained, but Harry didn’t bother with challenging him. Once he was out of Louis’ sight a calm washed over him because it didn’t matter what happened next. Harry was safe.

Behind him, Men who had already fallen were trampled on like dirt. Only the men with friends had the privilege of spending their last moments in warm arms. It just went to show what a living hell war really was. Louis would never understand why rational conversation didn’t work. Never.

After ten minutes, Louis and a guy named Malik had taken down three planes and everyone’s confidence began to rise. That was until one of the ships was torpedoed right before their eyes. The ship began to capsize and Louis could see the bodies falling from the sides, desperately clinging to the rails. He can see all of them. He watches them die. 

Random spurts of bright orange flame appear, sending machines and live men into further panic. Everything was happening so fast that it almost appeared to be in slow motion. It was hard for anybody to wrap their minds around the fact that they could easily die at any moment. They were at battle.

And to think Louis was supposed to see his family today.

He was supposed to go out for brunch, introduce them to Harry.

Harry.

Louis didn’t know how long it had been since he’d last seen Harry. All he knew was that Harry had come back and was now tugging hard at his arm. 

“Louis! Please!” Harry cried, forcing their foreheads together as Louis prepared to fire. He ripped Louis’ hand away from the trigger and stared at him with hard eyes. “Let’s go! Now! We’ll get out of here… together.” 

Louis shook his head and pushed Harry away from him with a rough shove. “Get out of here, Harry it’s not—”

A gunshot to his chest cut off Louis’ words. Harry began to fall back, his face a mixture of shock and pain as Louis moved in to catch him. “Oh God,” came Louis’ choked, panicked sob. “Harry. I’m gonna… I’m gonna get you down below okay?” Warm tears slipped down Louis’s cheeks, falling onto Harry’s face as he nodded slightly before Louis did the unthinkable.

He left his post.

As he made his way back to their room, Harry in his arms, Louis kept repeating for him to stay awake with him. He laid Harry down in their unmade bed and straightened out his legs so he was as comfortable as he could possibly be. The blood was seeping through his shirt, slowly dripping down his sides as Harry’s eyes began to slip shut.

“No! Louis yelled, slapping Harry in the face as hard as he could. “I’m so sorry, Harry, baby, but please…” He begged, holding his cheeks in his hands and looking into Harry’s eyes. He could see the life fading out of him. 

“Stay with me…” Louis whispered, stroking his thumb over the skin of Harry’s cheeks. 

Harry nodded. “Okay,” he murmured, a pained smile on his lips. “Okay. I promise.”

Louis nodded firmly wiping at his eyes as he ripped off a section of his shirt and bundled it up so he could apply pressure to Harry’s wound. A few moments later Harry’s hand moved to cover his own and Louis looked to the dying boy in the bed, confused.

“You have to go,” Harry choked out, coughing. “You gotta go back out there and fight. Fight for our country. Captain will be angry and—”

“No,” Louis stated firmly shaking his head. “I’m not leaving you for anyone. Not for anything.”

“I promised I’d stay with you. You have to promise me now that you’ll fight for the ice cream parlor outside of the base.” The sides of Harry’s mouth curled upward in a peaceful smile as he gave Louis’ hand a gentle squeeze. Louis smiled back at him and reluctantly placed the torn cloth in Harry’s hand so he could help himself.

“I love you,” Harry whispered as Louis stood up to walk out the door.

“Don’t say goodbye to me, Harry. You’re not going anywhere,” Louis replied and he left him there without another word. He wasn’t going to let him give up that easily. Saying those words in a situation like that only meant one thing: goodbye and Harry Styles wasn’t going to leave him. 

When Louis returned to the deck the attacks had gotten worse. At his gun, he could hear the runner’s reports to the Captain about the current damage. By that time they’d lost two battle ships, one carrier and at least 100 aircrafts. Louis couldn’t believe his hears. It had only been an hour. 

He shot down two more planes after that and he felt on top of the world. Like everything would somehow be alright if he could just keep shooting down the planes.

But it wasn’t.

“ _Abandon ship_!” 

Louis didn’t know what was going on, but it was suddenly every man for himself as they crowded the railings to get off. 

To call it chaos would be an understatement.

Louis was pushed out to the side multiple times by men who wanted to get through. As he sat down on a crate he tried to listen to various shouts in order to make some sense out of the situation. But Louis didn’t need to hear it. He could feel it.

The ship was capsizing.

Louis sprang to his feet and made his way through the mass of shouting men. The floors shifted with each step that he took and pretty soon he began to slide. He finally reached the stairs and, after a good sprint, his legs finally gave out on the wet ground. That’s when he began to panic. The ground was wet. Water was seeping into the ship.

Harry.

His body was pressed against the wall as he trudged through the water trying his best to get to the end of the long hallway. He called out Harry’s name a few times, hoping that, by some miracle, the boy would hear  him and be able to come out but it didn’t happen. 

The water had already reached the bed, soaking Harry to the bone, but he didn’t notice. Harry was barely awake. He was dying.

“Harry, love, come one. We—we need to get out of here!”

Louis took Harry into his arms and trudged back through the water, Harry’s head falling to his shoulder. He didn’t know how, but, by some miracle, they made it out.

Thinking back, Louis would say it was impossible for them to get out. The water had already reached his chest and he was almost walking on the walls. They should have drowned together; sunk to the bottom of the ocean with their beloved ship.

Sometimes, the world just isn’t that kind.

With Harry’s body locked into his own, Louis gripped the ropes on one the rails tightly and began to climb into the water. The salt made Harry cry out in pain, but all Louis could really do was try to soothe him with hopeful words.

“Tomlinson! Grab a hold of this!” Horan yelled as he threw a life preserver out to the pair. Louis let go of Harry to latch onto the white piece of Heaven and quickly placed it around Harry’s head and shoulders. He was unconscious.

Louis swam with every last bit of energy he had, and they next thing he knew two men were pulling both him and Harry out of the water. Horan laid him down and Louis allowed himself to breathe for a few moments  until he remembered Harry. Louis shot up to see him lying on the ground, similar to the way he had been, only with a doctor hovering over him.

“Stay away!” The doctor snapped when Louis got a little too close.

“No!” Louis shouted back, taking Harry’s hands as violent sobs shot through his body. “He promised me…”

The doctor shrugged off his reply and continued to work on Harry’s wound, but it wouldn’t stop bleeding. No matter what he did, it wouldn’t stop.

That was when Louis noticed the crimson colored liquid leaking out of the corners of Harry’s mouth. It fell so slowly, as if it were nothing. That was when Louis knew he was losing him. 

With a heavy sigh, the doctor picked up his instruments and moved away from Harry’s body without a word. 

“What the hell!?” Louis screamed, lunging forward to grab the man’s jacket. “Where are you going? Ha-Harry. He needs your help!” 

“You know there’s nothing more I can do…” He replied, a hint of sadness to his voice as he moved on to help the others. 

Louis fell to the ground and, once again, tried to apply some pressure to Harry’s open wound. It didn’t work. His mouth had gone slack and wide and his eyes, that had once been happy and bright and filled with a love Louis was only barely able to comprehend, were blank and void of all emotion. He looked cold and distant and gone. 

Louis rested his forehead against Harry’s, his body shaking as he cried. One of the men, Horan, sighed and closed Harry’s eyes because nobody else could really bear to look at him while they were still open. 

Pressing a soft, silent kiss to Harry’s forehead Louis stepped away from the body and curled in on himself at the other end of the boat. He stared straight ahead, his face blank, as he took in the form of Harry’s lifeless corpse. 

Louis couldn’t wait. He couldn’t wait to climb on board of that next ship. He wanted to sail to the coast of some distant country and step foot onto the land. He wanted to feel the bullets rip through his flesh as he and hundreds of other men stormed foreign soil. 

Harry would be proud of him, he thinks. Louis promised him he’d fight for that little ice cream parlor outside of the base; for their country. 

But Louis’ decided he may as well go the extra mile. 

He’d die for it.


End file.
